The one form of technique, that just like wine, gets better with age.  The older I get, the more Judo training I participant in, the better my Kuchiwaza becomes.

Kuchiwaza can be translated from the Japanese as “mouth technique”, and merely refers to the extensive ability us old-timers have of being able to tell a story for just about anything related to Judo.

So as our strength slowly diminishes, our injuries pile up, and our speed slows to a crawl – beware of our Kuchiwaza … it can be used with devastating effect upon the merest mention of any Judo topic – or indeed, virtually any topic.  For a good black belt can turn any topic to Judo with just a casual flick of his tongue.

And as a black belt gradually ages, just like a fine wine, he merely improves with age… he develops many more stories to tell – hopefully limiting any repetition of the same stories.  But we all have our favorite ones.  “The fish that got away” is a favorite of mine – the story of how I came within inches of throwing a National Champion in a local Los Angeles shiai.  Or another favorite story concerning tournament directors.  We all have ‘em.  Perhaps someone should consider collecting these stories into a book.  Anyone?